Sun, 29th Apr 7:30PM

Behind the scenes with TV's favourite wildlife man & his producer Stephen Moss Fifteen years ago, Bill Oddie and Stephen Moss had arrived at the same place- on the banks of a reservoir in North London.

It was during this brief encounter that they realized they had something else in common. They were both life long birders who were wondering if they could turn their hobbies into jobs.

They both worked in TV –which was a good start. Stephen was a producer of documentary and educational programmes (very useful), whilst Bill was a “Goody” (no use at all!).

Happily, BBC 2 were astute enough to give them a series. “Birding with Bill Oddie” was broadcast in 1997. Bill and Stephen shared the belief that there was a lot of mileage to be got from showing what birding was really like “in the field”, and not just the immaculate pin-sharp mega-magnified images of what was referred to as “Blue Chip” Natural History.

A TV critic summed it up perfectly when he said that Sir David Attenborough’s programs were the equivalent of “Playboy magazine”, whilst Bill’s were more “Reader’s Wives”! Reality, frustration, disappointment, joy and humour have always been integral ingredients in everything Bill and Stephen have done together.

The “everything”, by the way, includes several series of “Birding with Bill Oddie”, “Bill Oddie Goes Wild”, “How to Watch Wildlife”, and collaborations on the precursors of “Spring and Autumn Watch”. Whilst much of their work features wildlife that you can see for yourself in Britain, there have also been spectacular expeditions abroad to various parts of Europe, and across the Atlantic, from Disneyworld to Patagonia.

Bill and Stephen will share memories and stories from 15 years of some of the most popular natural history series ever made, illustrated by extracts, some of which were so memorable that they ranked amongst viewers most requested clips- from Bill’s ludicrous attempt to swim with seals, to the breath-taking air display of a Starling roost (often copied, but never surpassed!).

And of course, although the show is called Un-Plucked, it includes all sorts of other wildlife, from Dormice to Whales.

Fascinating for all the family!

Tickets: All £17